Efficient, Holistic, Heuristic and Semi-structured Suicide Assessment Tool (EHSSA) - Very Accurate Prediction of Risk.

Care Plus NJ, Inc.

Status

Completed

Conditions

Suicide Risk

Treatments

Other: EHSSA- An Efficient and Holistic/Heuristic Semi-structured Suicide Assessment Tool

Study type

Observational

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT04888533

EHSSA prospective study- PESP

Details and patient eligibility

About

Many studies have found that insights regarding suicide risk-factors for cohorts does not translate to practical value in the identification of such risk in specific individuals.

E.H.S.S.A. - a suicide assessment tool that was empirically designed by an emergency psychiatry department (P.E.S.P. of Bergen County) in its effort to accurately predict, in specific patients, the risk of suicide attempts in the reasonably foreseeable future. It is of a unique paradigm that combines critical elements of holism, heuristics and semi-structured design.

Full description

Objective:

Many studies have found that insight regarding suicide risk-factors for cohorts does not translate to practical value in the identification of such risk in specific individuals.

This performance improvement study formally examined the effectiveness of "EHSSA" (efficient, holistic/heuristic semi-structured suicide-risk assessment) - an empirically derived tool designed by this emergency psychiatry department. It is a suicide assessment tool for predicting in a specific patient (as opposed to a cohort), the risk of serious suicide attempts in the reasonably foreseeable future.

Methods:

At P.E.S.P. (Psychiatric Emergency Screening Program) of Bergen County of New Jersey, a prospective performance improvement study was done on all patients (N = 1,505) that had presented with psychiatric crisis to the department over the course of a 6 month period, (of which approximately 50% had significant suicidal ideations). The only exclusionary criteria was active delirium.

Each patient was evaluated using "EHSSA" by departmentally trained mental health professionals. Patients were deemed to either require hospitalization or be safe to be discharged to the community (with appropriate outpatient referrals). Those that were discharged (N = 137) were followed up with phone calls approximately 15 days post discharge.

Enrollment

1,505 patients

Sex

All

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Patients of any age/gender/economic class with or without dementia and/or substance use disorders
All patients presenting to P.E.S.P.(Psychiatric Emergency Screening Program of Bergen County) in psychiatric distress/crisis.

Exclusion criteria